Field Report: El Salmeron

On Tuesday, 14th of October, we visited the community of Salmeron with the objective of looking at the results of the greenhouse project there. During the day that we spent there we were able to speak to Don Santos Rocha and Donisio, the two beneficiaries of the project. Present were Rosario Velasquez and Vicente Velasquez.

Findings:

Donisio has not been devoting a lot of time to the cultivate of produce in his greenhouse due to the fact that the plants have come under attack from a small virus which was transferred when Donisio entered the greenhouse without changing his clothes immediately after working in his corn fields.

There are still some vegetables growing in spite of the virus and we spent some time with him reviewing the details of the organic pesticides that Vicente had shown him how to produce and making a plan of action to combat the virus and establish some balance in the greenhouse.

Nicaragua Coordinator Rosario Velasquez with Beets in El Salmeron

At the greenhouse of Santos Rocha, we saw a very good result. He is working very hard with his plants and has embraced the idea of organic production. As you can see from the photos the beets that he has grown are doing very well. You’ll see from the photos that there are beets being harvested both within the greenhouse and outside it. This is because there was such an abundance of seedlings that he transplanted half of them outside so as not to constrict their development. The development of plants is dependent not only on water and sunlight but also available nutrients. This is achieved by proper spacing of the seedlings. In this case more seeds sprouted than expected so it was necessary to move some outside.

Summary of Findings:

In the case of Santos, we were pleased to see how diligent he has been with the use of organic fertilizers and pesticides and the rapid and healthy production of plants in his greenhouse.

In the case of Donisio we were not encourage by the maintenance or lack there of of his greenhouse. However, we feel that after spending time with him and making a plan of action to rectify the situation with the insects that things will improve.

Recommendations:

As was the case in barrio Nuevo, the farmers mentioned that it would be very helpful if we could help them found and outsource for their production as a means of increasing income. We spoke with a store owner in San Nicolas and the owner of a ‘comedor’ both of who said they would be willing and interesting in purchase the produce at the time of harvest. We will convey that information to Santos and Donisio on our next visit.